2 Samuel 18:21

THE MESSAGE

Then Joab ordered a Cushite, "You go. Tell the king what you've seen." "Yes sir," said the Cushite, and ran off.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Joab then said to a Cushite, “Go tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed to Joab and took off running.

Hebrew Names Version
Then said Yo'av to the Kushite, Go, tell the king what you have seen. The Kushite bowed himself to Yo'av, and ran.

King James Version
Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.

Lexham English Bible
Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen"; then the Cushite bowed down to Joab and ran off.

English Standard Version
Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran.

New Century Version
Then Joab said to a man from Cush, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." The Cushite bowed to Joab and ran to tell David.

New English Translation
Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go and tell the king what you have seen." After bowing to Joab, the Cushite ran off.

Amplified Bible
Then Joab said to the Cushite (Ethiopian), "Go, tell the king what you have seen." And the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran.

New American Standard Bible
Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." So the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then said Ioab to Cushi, Goe, tel the king, what thou hast seene. And Cushi bowed himselfe vnto Ioab, and ran.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." So the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran.

Contemporary English Version
Someone from Ethiopia was standing there, and Joab told him, "Go and tell the king what you have seen." The man knelt down in front of Joab and then got up and started running.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then Yo'av said to the Ethiopian, "Go, tell the king what you saw." The Ethiopian bowed to Yo'av, then ran off.

Darby Translation
Then said Joab to the Cushite, Go, tell the king what thou hast seen. And the Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." So the Ethiopian bowed to Joab and ran to tell David.

George Lamsa Translation
Then Joab said to Cushi, Go tell the king what you have seen; and he ran.

Good News Translation
Then he said to his Ethiopian slave, "Go and tell the king what you have seen." The slave bowed and ran off.

Literal Translation
And Joab said to Cushi, Go, tell the king that which you have seen. And Cushi bowed to Joab, and ran.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But vnto Chusi sayde Ioab: Go thou thy waye, and tell the kynge what thou hast sene. And Chusi did his obeysauce vnto Ioab, and ranne.

American Standard Version
Then said Joab to the Cushite, Go, tell the king what thou hast seen. And the Cushite bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.

Bible in Basic English
Then Joab said to the Cushite, Go and give the king word of what you have seen. And the Cushite, making a sign of respect to Joab, went off running.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then sayd Ioab to Chusi: Go and tell the kyng what thou hast seene. And Chusi bowed him selfe vnto Ioab, and ranne.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then said Joab to the Cushite: 'Go tell the king what thou hast seen.' And the Cushite bowed down unto Joab, and ran.

King James Version (1611)
Then said Ioab to Cushi, Goe tell the King what thou hast seene. And Cushi bowed himselfe vnto Ioab, and ranne.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Joab said to Chusi, Go, report to the king all that thou hast seen. And Chusi did obeisance to Joab, and went out.

English Revised Version
Then said Joab to the Cushite, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And the Cushite bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.

Berean Standard Bible
So Joab said to a Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." The Cushite bowed to Joab and took off running.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Joab seide to Chusi, Go thou, and telle to the kyng tho thingis that thou hast seyn. Chusi worschypide Joab, and ran.

Young's Literal Translation
And Joab saith to Cushi, `Go, declare to the king that which thou hast seen;' and Cushi boweth himself to Joab, and runneth.

Update Bible Version
Then Joab said to the Cushite, Go, tell the king what you have seen. And the Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said Joab to Cushi, Go, tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself to Joab, and ran.

World English Bible
Then said Joab to the Cushite, Go, tell the king what you have seen. The Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran.

New King James Version
Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." So the Cushite bowed himself to Joab and ran.

New Living Translation
Then Joab said to a man from Ethiopia, "Go tell the king what you have seen." The man bowed and ran off.

New Life Bible
Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go and tell the king what you have seen." So the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran.

New Revised Standard
Then Joab said to a Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Joab to a Cushite, Go tell the king, what thou hast seen. And the Cushite bowed himself down to Joab, and ran.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Joab said to Chusai: Go, and tell the king what thou hast seen. Chusai bowed down to Joab, and ran.

Revised Standard Version
Then Jo'ab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." The Cushite bowed before Jo'ab, and ran.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Joab said to the Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." So the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran.

Contextual Overview

¹⁹Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, said, "Let me run to the king and bring him the good news that God has delivered him from his enemies." But Joab said, "You're not the one to deliver the good news today; some other day, maybe, but it's not ‘good news' today." (This was because the king's son was dead.) ²¹ Then Joab ordered a Cushite, "You go. Tell the king what you've seen." "Yes sir," said the Cushite, and ran off. ²² Ahimaaz son of Zadok kept at it, begging Joab, "What does it matter? Let me run, too, following the Cushite." Joab said, "Why all this ‘Run, run'? You'll get no thanks for it, I can tell you." ²³ "I don't care; let me run." "Okay," said Joab, "run." So Ahimaaz ran, taking the lower valley road, and passed the Cushite. ²⁴David was sitting between the two gates. The sentry had gone up to the top of the gate on the wall and looked around. He saw a solitary runner. The sentry called down and told the king. The king said, "If he's alone, it must be good news!" As the runner came closer, the sentry saw another runner and called down to the gate, "Another runner all by himself." And the king said, "This also must be good news." Then the sentry said, "I can see the first man now; he runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok." "He's a good man," said the king. "He's bringing good news for sure." Then Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, "Peace!" Then he bowed deeply before the king, his face to the ground. "Blessed be your God ; he has handed over the men who rebelled against my master the king." The king asked, "But is the young man Absalom all right?" Ahimaaz said, "I saw a huge ruckus just as Joab was sending me off, but I don't know what it was about." The king said, "Step aside and stand over there." So he stepped aside. Then the Cushite arrived and said, "Good news, my master and king! God has given victory today over all those who rebelled against you!" "But," said the king, "is the young man Absalom all right?" And the Cushite replied, "Would that all of the enemies of my master the king and all who maliciously rose against you end up like that young man." The king was stunned. Heartbroken, he went up to the room over the gate and wept. As he wept he cried out, O my son Absalom, my dear, dear son Absalom! Why not me rather than you, my death and not yours, O Absalom, my dear, dear son! ²⁶ David organized his forces. He appointed captains of thousands and captains of hundreds. Then David deployed his troops, a third under Joab, a third under Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king then announced, "I'm marching with you." They said, "No, you mustn't march with us. If we're forced to retreat, the enemy won't give it a second thought. And if half of us die, they won't do so either. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It will be better for us if you stay in the city and help from there." "If you say so," said the king. "I'll do what you think is best." And so he stood beside the city gate as the whole army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. Then the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom." The whole army heard what the king commanded the three captains regarding Absalom. The army took the field to meet Israel. It turned out that the battle was joined in the Forest of Ephraim. The army of Israel was beaten badly there that day by David's men, a terrific slaughter—twenty thousand men! There was fighting helter-skelter all over the place—the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword! Absalom ran into David's men, but was out in front of them riding his mule, when the mule ran under the branches of a huge oak tree. Absalom's head was caught in the oak and he was left dangling between heaven and earth, the mule running right out from under him. A solitary soldier saw him and reported it to Joab, "I just saw Absalom hanging from an oak tree!" Joab said to the man who told him, "If you saw him, why didn't you kill him then and there? I'd have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver and a fancy belt." The man told Joab, "Even if I'd had a chance at a thousand pieces of silver, I wouldn't have laid a hand on the king's son. We all heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake, protect the young man Absalom.' Why, I'd be risking my life, for nothing is hidden from the king. And you would have just stood there!" Joab said, "I can't waste my time with you." He then grabbed three knives and stabbed Absalom in the heart while he was still alive in the tree; by then Absalom was surrounded by ten of Joab's armor bearers; they hacked away at him and killed him. Joab then blew the ram's horn trumpet, calling off the army in its pursuit of Israel. They took Absalom, dumped him into a huge pit in the forest, and piled an immense mound of rocks over him. Meanwhile the whole army of Israel was in flight, each man making his own way home. While alive, Absalom had erected for himself a pillar in the Valley of the King, "because," he said, "I have no son to carry on my name." He inscribed the pillar with his own name. To this day it is called "The Absalom Memorial." Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, said, "Let me run to the king and bring him the good news that God has delivered him from his enemies." But Joab said, "You're not the one to deliver the good news today; some other day, maybe, but it's not ‘good news' today." (This was because the king's son was dead.) Then Joab ordered a Cushite, "You go. Tell the king what you've seen." "Yes sir," said the Cushite, and ran off. Ahimaaz son of Zadok kept at it, begging Joab, "What does it matter? Let me run, too, following the Cushite." Joab said, "Why all this ‘Run, run'? You'll get no thanks for it, I can tell you." "I don't care; let me run." "Okay," said Joab, "run." So Ahimaaz ran, taking the lower valley road, and passed the Cushite. David was sitting between the two gates. The sentry had gone up to the top of the gate on the wall and looked around. He saw a solitary runner. The sentry called down and told the king. The king said, "If he's alone, it must be good news!" As the runner came closer, the sentry saw another runner and called down to the gate, "Another runner all by himself." And the king said, "This also must be good news." ²⁷ Then the sentry said, "I can see the first man now; he runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok." "He's a good man," said the king. "He's bringing good news for sure." ²⁸ Then Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, "Peace!" Then he bowed deeply before the king, his face to the ground. "Blessed be your God ; he has handed over the men who rebelled against my master the king." ²⁹ The king asked, "But is the young man Absalom all right?" Ahimaaz said, "I saw a huge ruckus just as Joab was sending me off, but I don't know what it was about." ³⁰ The king said, "Step aside and stand over there." So he stepped aside.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cross-References

Genesis 11:5
God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.

Genesis 18:1
God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing. He ran from his tent to greet them and bowed before them.

Exodus 33:5
God said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites, ‘You're one hard-headed people. I couldn't stand being with you for even a moment—I'd destroy you. So take off all your jewelry until I figure out what to do with you.'" So the Israelites stripped themselves of their jewelry from Mount Horeb on.

Jeremiah 17:1
"Judah's sin is engraved with a steel chisel, A steel chisel with a diamond point— engraved on their granite hearts, engraved on the stone corners of their altars. The evidence against them is plain to see: sex-and-religion altars and sacred sex shrines Anywhere there's a grove of trees, anywhere there's an available hill.

Micah 1:3
Look, here he comes! God , from his place! He comes down and strides across mountains and hills. Mountains sink under his feet, valleys split apart; The rock mountains crumble into gravel, the river valleys leak like sieves. All this because of Jacob's sin, because Israel's family did wrong. You ask, "So what is Jacob's sin?" Just look at Samaria—isn't it obvious? And all the sex-and-religion shrines in Judah— isn't Jerusalem responsible?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said Joab to Cushi,.... The Ethiopian, or blackamoor; who either was an Ethiopian by birth and proselyted, or he was an Israelite of a black complexion, and therefore so called; and was judged a proper person by the general to carry such dismal news to the king, as he knew it would be. Some Jewish writers a take him to be the same with Cush the Benjaminite, in the title of the seventh psalm, Psalms 7:1; and that he is the same that told Joab he saw Absalom hanging in an oak, and declared that, if a thousand shekels of silver were offered him, he would not have put forth his hand against him, 2 Samuel 18:10; though some think this was one of the ten young men that waited on Joab, and by his orders slew Absalom; but it would have been dangerous for one of these to have carried the tidings, had he been known by David to have done it:

go tell the king what thou hast seen: by which it should seem that he was present when Absalom was killed:

and Cushi bowed himself unto Joab; in reverence to him as his general, and in thankfulness for sending him on this errand:

and ran; as fast as he could.

a Pirke Eliezer, c. 53.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Cushi - “The Cushite,” a foreign slave, perhaps of Joab’s, whom he did not scruple to expose to David’s anger. If, however, it is a name, it must be rendered “Haccushi.” In the title to Psalms 7:0, “Cush, the Benjamite,” cannot mean this Cushi, since the contents of the Psalm are not suitable to this occasion.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 18:21. Tell the king what thou hast seen — At this time the death of Absalom was not publicly known; but Joab had given Cushi private information of it. This Ahimaaz had not, for he could not tell the king whether Absalom were dead. To this Joab seems to refer, 2 Samuel 18:22: "Thou hast no tidings ready."